In recent years in the photographic processing of color photographic materials, with the shortening of the time of delivery of finished goods and the reduction of labor in laboratories, it is desired to shorten the processing time. To accomplish this, while generally the temperature or the replenishing amount is increased, other various techniques have also been proposed, such as the intensification of stirring or the addition of various accelerators.
Among others, for the purpose of making the color development rapid and/or of reducing the replenishing amount, it is known to use a method wherein a color photographic material containing a silver chloride emulsion, instead of the conventionally widely used silver bromide type emulsions or silver iodide emulsions, is processed. For example, in International Publication No. WO-87-04534, a method is described for rapidly processing a high-silver-chloride color photographic material with a color developer substantially free from sulfite ions and benzyl alcohol.
In JP-A ("JP-A" means unexamined published Japanese patent application) Nos. 30250/1987, 246054/1987, 249149/1987, 257156/1987, 11939/1988, and 100545/1988, methods for processing a silver halide color photographic material comprising silver chloride or silver chlorobromide containing pyrazoloazole-type coupler are described, and techniques being capable to carry out a rapid processing, and being excellent in color reproduction, high in maximum density of magenta color-forming layer, and low in fogging are disclosed.
However, it has been found that when development processing is carried out by an automatic processor for papers according to the above method, streaked fogging occurs. This is assumed to occur as follow: when the photographic material comes in contact with a roller or the like in the developing tank of an automatic processor, the photographic material becomes scarred and is pressure-sensitized, resulting in streaked fogging due to the pressure sensitization, that is, so-called in-solution pressure-sensitized streaks (hereinafter referred to as pressure-sensitized streaks) occur. Further, facts have been apparent that when the method is used for continuous processing, fluctuation of photographic quality, in particular fluctuation of the minimum density (fogging, Dmin) and the maximum density (Dmax), becomes conspicuous, and insufficient desilvering takes place such that the white background is greatly stained.
Thus, rapid development processing that uses a high-silver-chloride color photographic material is accompanied by such serious problems as pressure-sensitized streaks, fluctuation of the photographic quality, and the occurrence of insufficient desilvering, and therefore such processing could not be practically used.
Further, in a rapid process that uses a high-silver-chloride color photographic material, in order to reduce the fluctuation of photographic quality, in particular the fluctuation of minimum density (Dmin), involved in continuous processing, the use of organic antifoggants is known, as described in JP-A Nos. 95345/1983 and 23342/1984. However, it has been found that the use of the organic antifoggants prevents neither the occurrence of pressure-sensitized streaks, as mentioned above, nor the increase of Dmin involved in continuous processing, and it has also been found that the occurrence of insufficient desilvering involved in continuous processing further increases.
JP-A No. 70552/1986 describes a process for lowering the replenishing amount of a developer, wherein a high-silver-chloride color photographic material is used and a replenisher is added in such an amount that overflow to the developing bath will not take place during the development processing, while JP-A No. 106655/1988 describes a process for processing a high-silver-chloride color photographic material with a color developer containing a hydroxylamine compound and a chloride, in a certain concentration or over, to stabilize the processing. However, it is found that these methods are difficult to use practically because of pressure-sensitized streaks occurring in a process using an automatic processor, the fluctuation of photographic quality in continuous processing, the occurrence of insufficient desilvering, and the occurrence of after-processing stain at the unexposed (uncolored) part.